Week In Review

Sunday, September 14, 2003

Doyle unveils $40 million economic recovery plan

Acknowledging that the state is bleeding jobs and undergoing a deep economic restructuring, Gov. Jim Doyle outlined a $40 million economic recovery plan and promised to seek an increase in the minimum wage. Doyle’s “Grow Wisconsin” program — which includes measures that range from new funds for job retraining to state- sponsored venture-capital initiatives — brought mixed reviews from business leaders, academics, economists and lawmakers.

Bills for natural gas expected to climb 10%

Consumers and businesses socked with high natural gas bills last winter could pay even more as the weather turns cold this year. Gas heating bills for We Energies customers are expected to be up about 10% from last winter, the Milwaukee-based utility said.

Another airline joins in cheap Florida flights

Another airline will touch down at Mitchell International Airport in December when USA 3000 joins an already competitive field with cheap flights to Florida. The Philadelphia-based airline will fly non-stop between Milwaukee and Fort Myers and St. Petersburg, Fla., with 168-seat Airbus jets.

FTC says brewers not aiming at the young

Brewers and other alcohol drink marketers are not targeting underage consumers for flavored malt beverages, according to a Federal Trade Commission report. The commission’s investigation of advertising for flavored malt beverages — which includes such sweet, citrus-flavored drinks as Miller Brewing Co.’s Skyy Blue and Anheuser-Busch Inc.’s Bacardi Silver — shows that adults are the intended target of such ads.

4 in trading scheme to argue against prison

Four Wisconsin blue-collar workers involved in a $1.4 million insider trading scheme are scheduled for sentencing Nov. 18. The four originally were to be sentenced last week in federal court in New York, but U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon agreed to delay the sentencing and instead hold a hearing in which the four can make a case for why they shouldn’t be sent to prison.

Suits against Strong allege improper trading

Several lawsuits were filed against Menomonee Falls-based Strong Capital Management Inc. in connection with allegations by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that Strong and three other mutual fund companies allowed a New Jersey hedge fund to engage in improper trading practices in their funds. Strong has not yet said whether it intends to reimburse shareholders who lost money as a result of Canary Capital Partners LLC’s trading in five of its mutual funds.

Fifth Third Processing moving to west side

A downtown Milwaukee payment processing operation and its 80 employees are moving to the west side. Fifth Third Processing Solutions, the electronic payment processing division of Cincinnati- based Fifth Third Bank, is to operate its Milwaukee sales and service hub from 21,250 square feet at Honey Creek Corporate Center IV, 9000 W. Chester St.

Area housing market 4.6% ahead of ’02 record

Metropolitan Milwaukee’s housing market blazed in August, with 1,892 resales, 14.1% more than a year earlier, as buyers pounced on new offerings in a supply-short market. This region is on pace for its best year ever — 12,391 sales of existing homes by Aug. 31, which is 4.6% above the 11,845 in the first eight months of record- high 2002, Metro Multiple Listing Service said.

ShopKo store shows off its green-and-tan look

Green Bay-based Shopko unveiled its new, green-and-tan look to the media at its Neenah store. The earth-tone colors will replace ShopKo’s outdated red, blue and gray look, inside and out.

Greendale revives blight designator for Younkers

Faced with a continued major vacancy at Southridge Mall, officials in Greendale are reviving an effort that could result in the village’s purchase of the former Younkers department store building at Southridge. The Greendale Community Development Authority voted to schedule an Oct. 9 public hearing on a proposed blight designation.

Fresh Brands starts work on wholesale bakery, deli

The company that operates Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in Wisconsin and northern Illinois announced it has broken ground for an expanded wholesale bakery and delicatessen production facility in Platteville. Fresh Brands Inc. of Sheboygan is building a 41,000- square-foot site to replace a smaller Platteville facility that the company acquired in its 2001 purchase of the Dick’s Supermarkets chain.

Canada Drug Service reports being swamped

Since opening last week, a storefront business in Wauwatosa, Canada Drug Service, that procures prescription drugs from Canada for Wisconsin customers has reportedly been swamped with business.

Trucking companies appear to be rebounding

Evidence both statistical and anecdotal is mounting that the trucking industry is rebounding on the strength of an improving economy. Tonnage moved is up. So are the stock prices of several of the largest truckload carriers. At the same time, firms are again having a tougher time finding qualified drivers, a possible sign of economic recovery. And companies are reporting continued strong demand for August and early September — a period not covered by the most recent statistics.

Mortgage foreclosure rate begins to drop

America’s home-mortgage foreclosure rate dropped to 1.12% of all loans June 30 from its March 31 peak of 1.20%, a sign that “the worst of the recession damage is over,” economist Doug Duncan said.

Mortgage rates slide a bit from last week to 6.16%

Mortgage rates edged down last week. The average rate on 30-year mortgages declined to 6.16% for the week that ended Thursday, compared with the previous week’s 6.44%, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly nationwide survey.

Waukesha firm will collaborate on tests

Biotechnology companies in Waukesha and San Diego said Wednesday they will collaborate in developing new, highly sensitive, infectious-disease tests. Influenza, pneumonia, adeno-virus, herpes, West Nile virus and SARS are among the diseases that will be targeted by Prodesse Inc., the Wisconsin company, and Nanogen Inc.